School Trip to the South: AIDS Club

The aim of the trip to the south is to see the tourist industry there and the different approaches of developing the area. Some groups choose a community-based strategy where the income from the tourism goes into developing the surrounding town. Some are privately owned, some are government run. First we stayed at a government campsite near the big dam in the south. It was really beautiful- a lot of wildlife and would be insanely popular in the States. The problem is it's too expensive for locals to stay there and it's kind of out of the way for tourists.

The next night we stayed at a community-run campsite which wasn't too nice- not very well kept but it made sense because it's all on a volunteer basis and the resources are not enough.
One of the main people who runs the campsite is Goliath- a small Nama man who wears a big hat and work clothes. He's the head of the AIDS club which is a group of high school students who come together and do community service while spreading awareness about HIV/AIDS. We met with these students that day to clean up the campsite with them- we pulled weeds, raked, etc. Before that though, they sang for us. The one that none of us can get out of our minds was a special one about AIDS. The lyrics are quite interesting:

AIDS kills the world
There is no cure
Say no to sex
And stay alive

AIDS kills the world
There is no cure
Please use condoms
Care for yourself

They sang this song over 10 times I'm sure. They also had others which included using condoms as props. It was really interesting to see how educated these young people were about HIV/AIDS. I'm pretty sure 8th graders in the States are not nearly as informed- it seems like a luxury to not have to know death rates and what it feels like when someone close to you dies from the disease. All of the kids were really passionate about their work for the AIDS club (even though I think maybe a name change to the "AIDS prevention club" might be a positive thing). So we had a great time with these kids- they were so cheerful and social, it was great.

After we left we drove to another town to a campsite that's privately run and the profits go to the owner's non profit for women's empowerment. This place was absolutely amazing- right next to a huge dried up salt pond--meaning a huge lake made up just large crystals of salt and no water.

When we first drove up it was dark and everyone thought it was a large body of water because the salt reflected the moonlight and looked exactly like water. Before dinner, the whole group went down to walk on it including Linda, Passat, and a guide from the campsite. It was the most bizarre feeling- really squishy to walk on and if you dig through the first inch of salt there's a layer of clay.

So we were all laying on the salt looking at the stars when we decided to have a little yoga lesson. Linda's amazing at yoga and can do poses I've never imagined anyone could do. It's her sanity when dealing with 20 American students. So she circled us up and led a short class- all the boys joined as well as Passat and the young man who guided us. It was so cute- Passat and the guide taking it very seriously but falling constantly. The yoga was really refreshing and the fact that it was on a huge salt deposit made it very memorable.